Education
Post-doctoral Fellowship –University of California, Berkeley, CA
Ph.D.–Rutgers University, NJ, 1999
M.S.–Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
B.S.-Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

Affiliations
Member, The Obesity Society (NAASO)
Member, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
Member, International Food Scientists (IFT)

Research
Obesity is a global health problem. Obesity contributes to the increased prevalence of other chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and coronary heart diseases, which are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the U.S. Activation of adipocyte differentiation (adipogenesis) and inflammatory response of adipose tissue has been known to contribute to the development of obesity, and obesity-associated chronic diseases. Despite having continuous attention on dietary phytochemicals as rich therapeutic/preventive sources for many diseases, a few such compounds are known to have anti-obese property. In an effort to develop dietary strategies to prevent the generation of adipose tissue and its associated pathogenesis, we employ molecular and biochemical studies utilizing cultured mammalian cells and animal model of obesity to study the following projects.

1. Discovery of anti-obese bioactive phytochemicals and understanding their modes of action in adipogenesis and oxidative stress responsiveness of adipocytes
2. Regulation of adipogenesis and endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated signaling pathway in adipocytes by a micronutrient selenium and selenium binding proteins
3. Determining the role of Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) and AGE-related signaling pathway in adipogenesis and oxidative stress responsiveness of adipocytes
• AGEs are generated in the late stage of Maillard reaction during food processing (e.g., frying, roasting or cooking). AGEs are also generated in oxidative stress- and inflammation-associated biological systems. Both food-driven (exogenous) and biological-driven (endogenous) AGEs are known to play a detrimental role in human health. Although it is unclear whether AGEs and AGEs-dependent signaling pathways play either causative or correlative role in the development of aging and some of human diseases (e.g., diabetes, renal disease and vascular disease), evidence suggests that elevated levels of intracellular and extracellular AGEs are associated with the development of aging and these diseases. In line with this, our group is interested in elucidating the biological function of AGEs in adipose biology.

Curriculum Vitae